Removal

by Murphy, Peter

  ‘Jesus Christ,’ she breathed softly.

  For some time, she sat gazing out of her window, lost in thought. Then she picked up her phone, and dialed the number of an old friend who worked for one of the District’s biggest real estate firms.

  ‘Ruthie, it’s Mary. How’s the diet going?’

  ‘Don’t ask, Sweetie. You take off five pounds and put six back on. Go figure.’

  ‘You don’t need to be on a diet. You never did. I don’t know why you do it.’

  ‘You should look in my bedroom mirror some time. What’s up?’

  Mary bit her lip.

  ‘Ruthie, could you do me a favor?’

  ‘For you? Anything. What do you need?’

  ‘I’m trying to track down a company called Middle and Near East Holdings, Incorporated. They have an address in North West, an apartment actually, and I’m interested in finding out the name on the lease. I know it’s supposed to be confidential, but…’

  ‘Baloney,’ Ruthie said. ‘What’s the address?’

  Mary told her.

  ‘Hold a minute. Let me see if I have anything.’

  Two minutes went by. When Ruthie spoke again, Mary could sense the smile on the other end of the line.

  ‘You’re in luck, Mary. It’s one of ours. The named lessee is a guy called El-Rashid.’

  ‘El-Rashid? Are you sure?’

  ‘I’m looking right at it.’

  ‘Damn,’ Mary whispered to herself.

  She thought for a moment.

  ‘Is there any way to know whether he is the original lessee, or whether someone else may have been on the lease before?’

  ‘Sure. Hold a moment. Yes, come to mention it, El-Rashid was substituted recently. The original guy who took the lease from us was called Marfrela, first name Hamid. You need me to spell that?’

  ‘No, that’s OK.’

  ‘According to the file, this guy Marfrela died, and the El-Rashid guy took over from him. That’s all I know. Does it help?’

  Mary sat back happily in her chair.

  ‘Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Ruthie, you just earned lunch at the venue of your choice.’

  ‘Yeah, right, it will have to be the salad bar.’

  Mary laughed.

  ‘Whatever. You’re a pal, Ruthie. Take care.’

  ‘You too, Sweetie.’

  Mary dialed a number on the intercom.

  ‘Irene?’

  ‘Oh, hi, Ms. Sullivan,’ the intern said nervously. ‘Was the work I did for you OK?’

  ‘Irene, do you get a grade for your internship at George Washington?’

  ‘Yes, Ma’am.’

  ‘Well, so far, I would say you’re looking at an ‘A’. Would you like to go for the ‘plus’?’

  Mary could feel the young woman’s pleasure on the other end of the line.

  ‘Yes, Ma’am. I sure would. What do you need?’

  ‘I want you to run down a guy by the name of Hamid Marfrela. Come by my office and I’ll give you everything I’ve got on him.’

  ‘I’ll be right there. What do you need to know about him?’

  ‘Let’s start with everything his own mother knows,’ Mary said. ‘And we’ll take it from there.’

  Soon after Irene had practically hopped, skipped and jumped from Mary’s office to start her new research project, Selvey called. Without any explanation of his failure to return her calls earlier, he instructed Mary in his usual peremptory way to meet him in his favorite dive in a bad part of town. Mary felt her temperature rising as she listened to him. As usual, Selvey was irritating her. But he seemed to sense that fact over the phone, because just as she was beginning an indignant protest, he interrupted her as brusquely as ever.

  ‘Miss Sullivan, you really don’t want to miss this one,’ he said, with a suggestion of laughter in his voice. ‘Trust me, you really do not want to miss this.’

  With that, Selvey hung up. Tightening her lips and suppressing a desire to scream, Mary Sullivan picked up her purse and a yellow pad and made her way to her car.

  * * *

  ‘You don’t think Linda’s actually been threatened?’ Jeff asked.

  He was helping Kelly to wash up after a late supper in her apartment.

  ‘No. I don’t think so. But I worry about her anyway. She’s under so much pressure.’

  ‘Not helped by her asshole ex-husband.’

  ‘Right. I feel so helpless with her sometimes.’

  Jeff put the last plate back in the cupboard, closed it, turned and took Kelly in his arms.

  ‘All you can do is spend time with her, which you do. I think she’ll tell you if anything happens.’

  ‘I hope so.’

  He looked at his watch. ‘It’s getting late.’

  He kissed her. Their eyes met and she knew the time had come.

  ‘Jeff, you know you don’t have to go.’

  He pulled her gently into an embrace. They did not speak for some time.

  ‘I haven’t wanted to the last few times I’ve been here. I just wasn’t sure…’

  She kissed his cheek.

  ‘I wanted it to be your decision.’

  ‘I’d love to stay.’

  She took his hand and led him into the bedroom. They sat together on the bed.

  ‘There’s just one thing,’ Kelly said. ‘I get nightmares sometimes. I want to tell you now, because I don’t want you getting scared later if I wake up screaming.’

  He nodded. ‘New York?’

  ‘Yes. Frank could never stand it,’ she said. ‘I think it’s one of the reasons he went away so much.’

  Jeff lay on his back, and gently arranged her on top of him with her head on his chest.

  ‘I can deal with it,’ he said. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’

  She shook her head, stroked him with her fingers.

  ‘It can wait. I just wanted you to know. In case we fall asleep later and I forget.’

  Much later, naked and at peace, they pulled the sheet and blanket up to cover them, and settled down, intertwined.

  ‘We were investigating rackets two of the Mob Families were running out of the Bronx,’ she said. ‘They had this crappy factory as a front. It was supposedly making cheap dresses, but it was a place they used to store stolen goods, drugs, dirty money, God only knows what. I went in under cover as a clerk. I stayed too long. My cover was blown. I had to try to shoot my way out. Two of my support team, two agents called Joe Grant and Tina Mickelson, happened to be in the area, and picked up my distress call. They showed up in an unmarked car. The bad guys trapped us in a kind of storage area near the main gate, crates and boxes and all kinds of crap everywhere. We took cover, and there was a shoot-out. Joe had a radio, and he managed to call for back-up. But he exposed himself and took one in the head. Tina and I kept shooting, but we were outnumbered and outgunned. It was only a matter of time. Then they got Tina. She took three bullets, but they didn’t kill her right away. She was lying by my side, crying, asking for her mother. She…’

  He kissed her. ‘It’s OK.’

  ‘Then by some miracle, our back-up came. The bad guys heard the sirens and took off. Two minutes later and it would have been over. I was amazed it wasn’t over anyway. If they’d rushed us, we wouldn’t have had a chance. By the time the back-up got inside the factory, Tina was gone. They sent me on leave for four months. I went down to Mexico, Cancun. Linda took some leave and came with me for the first two weeks. She slept with me every night, and every night I would wake up screaming. She just held me and held me, for hours. I wouldn’t have made it without her. I still get the nightmares sometimes. It doesn’t happen so often now, but you need to know that it will, once in a while.’

  Jeff kissed her forehead.

  ‘I blamed myself for not getting out of there sooner. We had all the evidence we needed to get the middle men. But I wanted to nail a couple of capos. Thought I could do it for sure if I had another week or so. Once I’d lain on the beach in Cancun for a couple of weeks and m
y mind came back, I was sure it was my fault Joe and Tina were dead. I was ready to quit. And then, for whatever reason, Lazenby called and rescued me.’

  They were silent for several minutes.

  ‘I get them too, sometimes,’ Jeff said.

  ‘About Susan?’

  ‘Yeah. Being at the hospital when she died. I wake up in the early hours, panicking, feeling lost.’

  She kissed him.

  ‘I don’t know whether I scream or not. There’s never been anyone there to tell me.’

  She held him as tight as she could.

  ‘There is now,’ she said.

  23

  FROM HIS VANTAGE point in the control tower, George Carlson took in the scene in the compound’s training ground below with satisfaction. Using binoculars, he could see every detail of the action. They were getting better all the time. The assault drill had been carried out to near perfection, the results of his training, based on his experience in nameless military campaigns in Africa. Carlson considered himself an expert. But he could not do everything himself. He had hand-picked a small group of men to be his officers, and drove them hard until they had mastered the techniques of fast, mobile warfare. When they were ready, Carlson placed the officers in charge of the newer recruits. The practical training was continually reinforced by indoctrination sessions, offering the recruits a new vision. A new United States, free from corrupt liberal politicians interested only in feathering their own nests, a country relieved of the curse of racial degradation. A message to stir the blood of right-thinking men. And now it was beginning to pay off. Carlson had a fully-formed fighting force, a force ready to liberate America from its own corrupted institutions.

  Dan Rogers was running up the last few steps of the rough metal staircase to join his commander in the control tower. His fatigues were covered with dust and his face was bathed in sweat. Despite his exertions, Rogers was breathing only slightly faster than usual. He was in good spirits. Carlson turned around and smiled appreciatively.

  ‘Nice work, Dan. It was looking good down there.’

  ‘It could still be faster. But it’s coming along, George. The guys have been working their asses off. They’re up for it. They’re ready for the real thing. I can feel it.’

  Carlson lit a cigarette.

  ‘Good. So am I. Did the supplies arrive?’

  ‘Yeah. Peters took care of them. All neatly stacked away.’

  ‘How about the new guy, what’s his name, Seager?’

  Rogers accepted a light for a cigarette.

  ‘The signals guy? Yeah, he’s here. I was going to bring him up to see you, but we ran out of time. He arrived just as the drill was starting, so I sat him down to watch. He was pretty damned impressed.’

  ‘He should be. Where is he now?’

  ‘Down below. I told him to wait until I’d reported to you. You want to see him now or later?’

  ‘Why don’t you bring him up now. You’re sure he checks out, Dan, right?’

  ‘His references were good. Benson vouched for him.’

  ‘All right. Let’s take a look at him.’

  Rogers picked up the field telephone and flicked the rotating dial. ‘Henderson?’

  ‘Sir,’ a voice answered.

  ‘Bring Captain Seager up to the tower right away.’

  ‘Yes, Sir,’ the voice answered smartly.

  Rogers hung up. He and Carlson were silent, smoking, looking out over the tarmac where some of their soldiers were cleaning up after the assault drill and returning equipment to storage. After a few moments a man in his late thirties in clean fatigues joined them on the deck of the tower. He stood briefly to attention, gave a salute which ended almost as soon as it began, and finally stood at ease.

  Carlson returned the salute.

  ‘Captain Seager? I’m Commander George Carlson. You’ve met my XO, Commander Rogers.’

  ‘Yes, Sir.’

  Carlson extended his hand. ‘You come highly recommended. I’m glad to have you aboard.’

  ‘Thank you, Sir. I’m glad to be here.’

  Carlson offered Seager a cigarette.

  ‘No, thank you, Sir.’

  ‘We’re pretty informal here, Captain. We keep up salutes and ranks in front of the men, but amongst ourselves it can be first names.’

  ‘OK,’ Seager said.

  Carlson exhaled from his cigarette.

  ‘What did you think of our little show?’

  ‘Very impressive.’

  ‘You should know. You were in The Congo, I’m told.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Brazzaville?’

  ‘Among other places.’

  ‘Was that the Lightning Bolt Campaign?’

  Seager seemed hesitant.

  ‘Not many people know about that campaign. It was kept kind of quiet.’

  ‘We’re pretty well informed here, Jim. Among the people we associate with, it’s something of a legend. From what I hear, it was downright ugly.’

  Carlson and Rogers exchanged smiles.

  ‘You don’t want to believe everything you hear,’ Seager said impassively. ‘It was a good chance to improve my skills. I’m looking forward to putting them to use in a good cause. Commander… Dan… was telling me it may not be long.’

  Carlson extinguished his cigarette.

  ‘Who knows? I try not to talk about it around the men. They tend to get excited about it, and you can’t keep them on the boil all the time. Are you familiar with your duties?’

  ‘In general terms.’

  Carlson lit another cigarette.

  ‘Well, let’s get a little more specific. First, we have a lot of men who have no experience of working with a signals officer. It will be your job to train them, show them what will be happening once we’re in the field. You’ll be a part of all our exercises from now on. Also, I need you to identify two or three men who you think can handle the job and teach them everything you know.’

  ‘No problem,’ Seager said. ‘And second?’

  ‘Second,’ Carlson said, ‘you’ll take over communications with a number of sources.’

  ‘Sources?’

  ‘We depend a lot on information. Most of it is public record. We monitor press and TV reports, and a full range of websites, for all political and military content. But we also rely on some inside information, which we analyze and pass on to other groups we expect to join with us when the time comes. The volume of intelligence is constantly increasing, and I don’t have time to deal with it all myself any more. Besides, this stuff is what you do. You’ll be a lot faster than I am.’

  ‘I assume you mean encryption?’

  ‘Always. The sources are in vulnerable situations. We have to protect them. You’ll have access to the code book, and you’ll encrypt and decrypt. I don’t want to see anything except the finished product. Except in one case.’

  Seager looked at Carlson questioningly.

  ‘We have one source in a very high place. His code name is Fox. He deals with me only. His terms. You give me the message encrypted and I read it myself. Same with outgoing. No one knows this except the three of us. We don’t even use the name ‘Fox’ when anyone other than the three of us is present. No exceptions. Understood?’

  Seager shrugged.

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘Good,’ Carlson said. ‘You got your schedule worked out?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘And you’ve seen your office?’

  ‘From a distance. The drill was about to start. I haven’t been inside yet.’

  ‘OK. Well, you better go get yourself settled in. Come by my office later. We’ll have a beer and talk about old campaigns.’

  ‘Thanks, I will.’

  * * *

  It was after midnight before Seager could excuse himself from Carlson’s office and drive quietly out of the compound to his apartment in a shabby suburb of Portland, where he was known to the landlord by the name of Baker. He removed his fatigues, poured himself a glass of whisky, an
d placed a phone call. It was very late where he was calling, and it took Kelly Smith some time to disentangle herself sleepily from Jeff Morris’ arms and pick up.

  ‘Kelly, Phil Hammond,’ he said.

  Kelly was awake immediately.

  ‘Phil, are you OK? How did it go?’

  ‘So far, so good. Tell the Agency they did a nice job with my legend. It looks like I’m a Sons of the Flag poster child.’

  ‘Thank God for that,’ Kelly replied. ‘What’s the situation?’

  ‘Too early to tell. They’re gearing up for action, that I can tell you. They ran a pretty slick assault drill to keep me amused this afternoon. But what they may be planning, where and when, it will probably take me a while to find out. They have a pretty hectic schedule planned for me. I won’t be able to get away as often as I’d like to, so don’t panic if you don’t hear from me for a day or two.’

  ‘OK,’ Kelly said. ‘Is there anything we can do for you right now?’

  ‘Yes,’ Hammond replied. ‘There is one thing you can check out for me.’

  ‘Hold on.’

  Kelly jumped out of bed and grabbed a pen and notepad from her desk.

  ‘OK. Shoot.’

  ‘It seems the Sons of the Flag have a pretty good network of information going. Carlson said they have sources that they need to protect. So they’re using codes. The information is encrypted, ingoing and outgoing. They want me to handle communications with the sources, so they’re going to give me access to almost all of the information. I’ll fill you in as I go along.’

  ‘That’s a good break,’ Kelly observed.

  ‘Yeah. But there’s one source who deals only with Carlson. Carlson says he’s, quote, in a very high place, unquote. I assume that means Washington. Code name is Fox. I’m not going to see any of his stuff decrypted. I thought you might run a check with our people and the Agency and see if you can come up with a match for the name.’

  ‘You got it,’ Kelly said.

  ‘Thanks, Kelly. I guess that’s about it for now.’

  ‘How’s the place they found you to stay in?’

  Hammond laughed.

  ‘Let me put it this way. You guys owe me big time. Next assignment, I get to spend time in the big house with you and the boss.’

  ‘I’ll see what I can arrange,’ Kelly promised, smiling.